The withdrawal of opposition to the arrest warrants puts the new British government at odds with the Biden administration, which opposes arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.
Movement, The Guardian was first to report the story. It would not improve the chances of the arrest warrant sought by ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan being granted, and other countries are likely to intervene before the court.
Israel Online news site Ynet An Israeli official, who asked not to be named, said: “Israel is deeply disappointed. This is a fundamentally wrong decision. It goes against justice and truth and violates the right of all democracies to fight terrorism.”
Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, has condemned Hamas and supported Israel’s right to defend itself, but also called for a ceasefire and more humanitarian aid to besieged areas.
In another move, Britain announced last week that it would resume funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, despite Israeli reports that some of its staff were involved in the October 7 attack by Hamas.
Britain’s new foreign secretary, David Lammy, said UNRWA had taken steps to ensure the “highest standards of neutrality” among its thousands of staff.
An official spokesman for the prime minister’s office, who traditionally remains unnamed, said on Friday that the new government’s decision not to oppose the arrest warrants should not be seen as support or opposition to any ICC proceedings.
“I can confirm that the government will not be pursuing a submission to the ICC. [the proposal] “This is consistent with our long-standing position that this is a matter for the court to decide,” the spokesman told reporters.
Khan, a British citizen, announced in May that he was seeking an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the subsequent war in Gaza.
The October attacks left about 1,200 Israelis dead, including soldiers and civilians, women and children. More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s war began, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The ICC prosecutor, seeking the arrest warrant, named as suspects Hamas’s supreme leader in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar, the group’s military commander, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ Qatar-based political bureau. Both the United States and Britain have designated Hamas a terrorist organization.
The prosecutor said the Hamas leaders were wanted on charges of murder, hostage taking, rape, sexual assault and torture.
The ICC prosecutor also asked the court to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of starvation of civilians, inciting great suffering and intentional attacks against civilians.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said in May that the threat of arrest warrants “will not stop our legitimate war against Hamas” and called the move a “travesty of justice.”
President Biden At the time, the warrant read:no way” He added that “there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.”
The ICC prosecutor has requested a warrant from a three-judge pre-trial committee, but it has yet to decide whether the trial can proceed.
The three-judge panel had previously ordered the UK to file a formal challenge to the warrant by mid-July.
According to British media reports, Starmer contacted Netanyahu days after his election on July 4, urging him to “further deepen close ties between the two countries,” “and added that it was also important to put in place the long-term conditions for a two-state solution, including ensuring the Palestinian Authority has the financial means to operate effectively.”
